LaLiga Takes on Google, Threatening to File Criminal Complaints Over Pirate IPTV Operators

• LaLiga published a report that claims its anti-piracy unit tackled illegal platforms, some of which were owned by Google.
• Google stands accused of indirectly endorsing piracy by standing idle while illegal IPTV services are left in peace.
• Moreover, LaLiga President Javier Tebas accused Google, Amazon, and Apple of making money from pirated content.

LaLiga is set to file criminal complaints against tech giant Google across multiple countries, including Spain, France, Brazil, and Ecuador, according to recent reports. This action follows a significant legal victory in Argentina, where a judge ordered Google to remove the pirate IPTV application, Magis TV, from all Android devices operating with Argentinian IP addresses.

LaLiga President Javier Tebas has accused Google of indirectly aiding piracy by not leveraging its ability to curtail the illegal streaming of LaLiga’s content. Tebas claims that Google has the power to slash piracy numbers by up to 80% but has failed to take necessary actions, warranting legal intervention.

Tebas warned of a potential crisis in the sports broadcasting industry if piracy isn't addressed promptly. He emphasized the urgent need for major tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple to stop making money from pirated content, which jeopardizes the entire sports ecosystem.

LaLiga announced its anti-piracy efforts have previously yielded impressive results, including the removal of over 1,065,000 illegal videos from YouTube and more than 75,800 websites from Google’s search index during the 2020/2021 season. The league also claims to have successfully disabled 820 mobile applications used for accessing pirated content.

The league's anti-piracy unit, known as Sportian, boasts significant success rates, leveraging Google's Trusted Copyright Removal Program and YouTube's Content ID system to eliminate infringing content quickly.

While these achievements highlight the complexity of the piracy landscape, they also raise questions about LaLiga's current strategy of targeting Google.

This month, the involvement of intermediaries like Cloudflare, Google, and Facebook in facilitating IPTV piracy was recently highlighted by U.K. broadcaster Sky in a report submission to the European Commission (EC).

Recently, Google asked the court to dismiss lawsuit claims accusing the tech giant of profiting from piracy, as several well-regarded publishers alleged Google knowingly supports the promotion of copyright-infringing sellers.